What Dreams May Come
by Biana Delacroix
Summary: "Listen carefully, Caroline. For once, I have absolutely no idea what is happening to us." Trapped together in a cursed sleep, surrounded by their innermost thoughts and memories, Klaus and Caroline are forced to trust each other to survive the nightmares chasing them down. The deeper they go, the more they learn about each other, and together, their dreams fill a world.
1. And Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

**Author's Note: Happy Tuesday! I'm very excited to be starting a new fic, something I've been planning to do for months but just recently got around to plotting out. There is no shortage of Dream fics in the Klaroline fic lexicon, so this is my contribution, and hopefully you'll like it! **

**A NOTE ON CANON: I'm doing what I did previously, _NO PREGNANT HAYLEY_. (Let Julie Plec deal with that mess). Klaus would very much like to rule New Orleans again though. Otherwise, this fic is entirely canon compliant-even though it might not seem that way at first. **

**Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Julie Plec. (Not that I trust them with her.)**

* * *

_Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange._

_-Inception_

Caroline woke up to the sound of silence.

She yawned, stretching out her limbs lazily and turning over in bed, before she became aware of how _quiet _her house was. It was hardly a new sensation. Her mom worked late hours, and it wasn't like there was anyone else who would be wandering into her house uninvited. In fact, her house was almost _always _quiet – but something was off.

One of the perks of being a vampire was having supernatural hearing, and Caroline could usually hear the cars on the street, the neighbours in their yard, the branches of the tree outside her window tapping on the glass. But now it was all just…silent.

'_What the hell…'_

She frowned, shaking off the last tendrils of sleep and jolting up in bed. In a second, she recognized the sounds of life coming from all around her. There were birds singing, the pipes were making that weird whistling sound her mother complained about, and the sound of the crying toddler next door pierced the air. All in all, a typical morning in Mystic Falls. But for that split second, something had been _wrong _and she couldn't shake the shiver of foreboding racing down her spine.

'_Get a grip, Caroline. You're a big girl.'_

She was a vampire, and she was being ridiculous. Throwing off her covers, she jumped up, mentally trying to rid herself of the weird feeling (but not succeeding) and flashing over to her closet, picking out her outfit for the day. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she stuffed her textbooks in her bag and bounced down the stairs.

Low voices came from the kitchen and Caroline popped her head in, smiling at the sight of her mom and dad chatting over their breakfast. Warm sunlight filtered through the window and the scene was bathed in a soft golden glow. She almost laughed at her own foolishness, how hadn't she heard them earlier? Her dad lowered the newspaper he was reading and smiled warmly at the sight of his daughter.

"Morning Princess, ready for school?"

"Yup! I've got cheerleading practice after class so I'm going to be late this afternoon."

"Well don't stay out too long, I'm making dinner tonight, alright?" said Liz. Caroline nodded absentmindedly as she rifled through the fruit bowl on the counter, picking up an apple for breakfast. Suddenly, she paused – wasn't there something weird about what her mom had said? Her mother usually worked late shifts, why would she be home cooking dinner…

Plagued by the weird feeling of something being amiss, Caroline was shaken out of her stupor by her dad standing up and pecking her on the cheek.

"You're going to be late for school, Princess," he said teasingly and Caroline shot him a bright smile, taking the apple and pulling her bag tighter on her shoulder.

"I'll see you guys tonight!" she said as she made her way over to the front door. Her hand was on the handle before a shard of ice went through her heart.

Something _was _wrong.

Her father was supposed to be _dead. _

Her bag hit the floor with a low _thud _as she flashed back to the kitchen. It was completely empty. The warm glow had vanished, and the sunlight was now weak, cold and grey. Her parents weren't there, and there was no sign of anybody having been in the room.

But that was…_right_, wasn't it? That was how it was supposed to be. Her mom must have left a while ago, she was pulling double shifts at the station, she wouldn't be home anytime soon, certainly not to cook dinner. And her dad…her dad was dead. He had been for months. But as much as she concentrated, Caroline could've sworn they'd been _right there, _together and happy, the way it'd been before her dad had left them. The way she'd wanted her family to be again more than anything.

But that wasn't going to happen. And what had she been imagining? The more she tried to remember, the fainter the memory got.

'_Right, no more blood bags before bed.'_

Could vampires get hallucinations? Maybe it was the stress of everything getting to her, but she was Caroline Forbes, she'd been through hell and she wasn't about to crack now. Whatever she'd thought she seen was just her overactive imagination. Of course. That was it.

Picking up her bag from the floor, she strode out of her house, head held high. Once in her car, with her backpack in the front seat, she mentally perked herself up, going through the day ahead of her. There was a math test in first period, then she had to make sure the prom committee had the tickets printed out, then the pep squad had to go over their routine for regionals…

_'Wait a sec…'_

Her foot slammed on the brake in the middle of the street, earning some very angry honks from the drivers around her, but she ignored them, quickly pulling over. Why was she going to school? Prom had happened; she remembered setting it up until it was perfect. She remembered Elena wreaking havoc at the cheerleading regionals. And she had definitely studied for exams…

_'What am I doing?!'_

She had _graduated_. Memories of the day came flooding back, the vivid red gowns, the witches, and the hybrid that had saved her…

For a split second, she contemplated getting a hold of Klaus. There was something seriously weird going on with her today and she was willing to bet that a guy with a thousand years of life experience might be able to shed some light on the matter. But just as quickly, she dismissed the thought. Klaus had moved on to New Orleans, he didn't have time for her anymore.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. There was no need to go running to Klaus, or anyone else for that matter. She was _fine. _Glancing over at the front seat, she realized her backpack wasn't even there, she had just imagined bringing it along with her this morning.

(Maybe it was a recent graduate thing? Feeling sentimental and all that?)

"Okay, you need a drink," she muttered to herself, pulling her car back on the road. Within five minutes it sat in the Grill parking lot, and she quickly jumped out, making her way through the front doors.

The small restaurant was pretty crowded for the middle of the day, but it was summer (wasn't it?) so she could understand more people having the time. A group of girls from school were giggling near the pool table; Caroline recognized some of her former cheerleaders. She gave them a small wave but they studiously ignored her. Frowning, Caroline walked up to them.

(She may not be captain of the squad anymore but she still Caroline Forbes, damn it!)

"Amy? Paige? How are you guys doing?" Her voice was bright but with the edge of authority she used when she was in 'Queen Bee' mode, but for once, it did nothing to help her, they didn't even look her way.

"Seriously?" she asked, irritated, but no one paid her a second of attention. Deciding that she didn't need to deal with this anymore, she flipped her hair and spun on her heel. "Bitches," she muttered under her breath.

(You steer a squad to regionals two years in a row and this is how they treat you?! Well, she wouldn't be letting them on any town committees for the foreseeable future.)

Spotting Matt over by the bar, she heaved a sigh of relief and nearly ran over, plopping herself down on one of the stools. "Matty, I need something strong, I'm having the _weirdest _morning. I've been imagining things all day and then those bitches over by the pool table are ignoring me, and I get they're probably still angry that I made them cry at those last practices but we went to regionals so I don't see why – Matt? Hellooo? Matt?"

But the blonde bartender didn't look her way, instead wiping down some glasses and storing them under the counter. Caroline huffed, snapping her fingers in the air, but for whatever reason, Matt seemed determined to completely ignore her existence.

"Matt, did I piss you off or something? Seriously, tell me!" Caroline demanded, but no matter how much she yelled (how was she not attracting attention from the other diners?) Matt didn't even look her way.

"_Ugh, _fine, be that way!" she said angrily, grabbing her purse off the counter and whirling around. Over at the center of the restaurant sat Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy, the Salvatores, and Tyler, and she ran over to them quickly, hoping they could finally give her some peace of mind.

"Guys, I'm so glad you're here, listen, do you know if I did something to piss Matt off? He's not paying attention to me and…guys?"

Caroline was starting to panic slightly because none of her friends looked her way or acknowledged that she even stood there. They remained in conversation, laughing amongst themselves, and Caroline was left to stand on the side, hurt and confused.

'_What is wrong with everybody today?!'_

Something was weird, _again. _She groaned and rubbed her temples, trying to figure it out, the truth dancing at the edge of her mind, but she _just couldn't put her finger on it…_

They laughed again, and as freaked out as Caroline was, she almost wanted to smile because when was the last time they had been like this? They'd barely gotten a chance to catch their breaths with everything that had happened-

'_This isn't right at all...'_

This wasn't right, none of this was _right. _Tyler was still in the Appalachians. Bonnie had disappeared. Jeremy wasn't supposed to be out in public yet. And Stefan had left town.

"Guys?" asked Caroline, her voice laced with confusion and fear. "Guys? What's up, why won't you talk to me?"

It was Elena who broke whatever the hell was going on, turning to face Caroline, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what was going on. Elena was staring at her, not with her usual expression of happiness upon seeing her friend, but without even the sneer of contempt she had worn in recent weeks. The brunette's face was an emotionless mask, betraying nothing.

"Elena? What's happening? Why won't you guys look at me, or talk to me?"

"Because you're alone, Caroline." Elena's voice was completely devoid of emotion, and her words sent a chill down Caroline's spine.

"What do you mean?! Are you guys angry, did I do something – "

"Look around Caroline. You're all alone."

Caroline gasped, holding back the tears that were threatening to escape. She spun around to find the Grill completely empty, with absolutely no sign of the crowd that had been there moments earlier. She turned back to Elena but she was gone too, with all of her friends. No one remained. She was completely, and utterly, alone.

"Oh my god," she muttered, whipping her head around frantically. "Oh my god, oh my god, _oh my god…" _She shook her head, massaging her temples, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Hello!" she called out to the empty Grill. "Anybody here?" Desperately, she flashed around the restaurant, checking the bathrooms and the back kitchen, but not a soul was in sight. Properly scared, she ran out the front door, expecting to at least find the streets teeming with people like they had been earlier.

But Mystic Falls might as well have been a ghost town.

Walking into the center of the street, she craned her neck, searching for signs of life. "Whoever's doing this, I'm not scared of you!" she yelled out, expecting someone to jump out and confront her. Maybe it was a curse, maybe it was Silas, maybe she had _finally _snapped…

"Nononono.." she muttered, her mind a jumbled mess. "Think Caroline, think, what happened last night?"

(Jesus, ten minutes of this and she was already talking to herself?)

Striding over to the town square which was still devoid of life, she sat down on a bench and put her head in her hands, desperately racking her brain for any memory of what had happened recently…

* * *

_THE NIGHT BEFORE…_

"_It's been a month, 'Lena, shouldn't Bonnie have called or something?" Caroline asked, slouched down on one of the couches in the Salvatores' living room. The place was Elena's permanent residence now, but as nice as it was, Caroline only ever visited sparsely. Interrupting Damon and Elena's honeymoon stage was not something she wanted to be held responsible for, and frankly, as much as she wanted to be supportive, she couldn't really deal with their 'relationship' yet. _

_Still, if there was one thing that could bring the girls together, it was the third member of their trio who had gone radio silent for a while. Jeremy kept saying that Bonnie just needed time to recuperate and as much as Caroline wanted to respect that, she hadn't heard from Bonnie in a month and it was starting to wear on her._

"_Relax Caroline, Bonnie's probably just taking the time to catch up with her mom, see some sights – she deserves a break," said Elena, sipping from a glass of blood. She looked much more relaxed these days, adjusting to emotions again was (thankfully) going smoothly. Of course, she had the guidance of her alive-again brother and her new boyfriend to help her through that. Speaking of which…_

"_Blondie, you're still here?_

_Caroline sighed. "Hey, Damon. What's up?" _

_But Damon ignored her, instead striding into the living room and sitting on the arm of Elena's couch. With a soft smile (one she didn't think he was capable of) he leant down and kissed Elena, who reached up her arm to wrap around Damon's neck, bringing him closer. Caroline awkwardly looked away, twiddling her thumbs. The couple was lost in their bliss and the young vampire grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. _

"_Uh…I'm still here. Hello?" Caroline was getting steadily more irritated so she picked up her purse and decided to call it a night. "I'll see you guys around!" she called out, quickly making her way to the front door. _

"_Oh – wait, Caroline, I'll walk you out!" Elena pulled away from Damon with a small giggle and rushed over to her friend, catching her at the front door. _

"_Listen, Care, Bonnie's fine, okay? We've been getting emails, she's keeping us up to date-"_

"_But when's the last time we really talked to her, Elena?" asked Caroline, worry flooding through. "When the last time she told us she was okay, really told us how she was feeling?" _

"_She just needs some time, Caroline. Just…time." Elena hugged Caroline tightly, reassuring her as much as she could. _

_With a deep breath, Caroline pulled back, forcing a bright smile on her face. "You're right, I guess. I'm going to get going now – bye Damon!" _

"_Bye Blondie!" called out Damon's voice, snarky as ever. Elena rolled her eyes as she said her goodbyes and Caroline stepped out into the night, repeating Elena's words over and over again in her head._

"_Bonnie's fine," she said to herself. "She's going to be fine." As she hopped in her car, the short ride back to her house was with an escalating foreboding, the shiver Caroline got when she was being followed. Parking quickly, she jumped out and had just stepped on her porch when a voice on the wind pulled her back. _

'Come away, Caroline. Come away.'

_It was barely a whisper, but as she turned around to find whoever had spoken, her world went dark._

* * *

Klaus sighed as he stepped back from the canvas in front of him. It was hardly immodest to say the work was beautiful, all his masterpieces were. A thousand years to refine natural talent will do that, after all. But no matter how much he added to this particular painting, there was something _missing._ Something was off about it, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on what that was, exactly.

With a huff, he added a bit more red to the edge of the horizon he was depicting, but still, it wasn't coming together the way he envisioned it. Heaving another sigh, Klaus turned away and set down his tools, running his hand through his hair and casting a glance around his studio. Odd, hadn't he had more paintings around him? He could've sworn he had hung up a portrait or two, but now the walls were bare…

He shook his head, rubbing his temples. Clearly a thousand years were catching up with him. Perhaps it was time for a change of scenery, Mystic Falls was could only do so much for inspiration after all. Except…hadn't he left already? He could have sworn that he had left Mystic Falls a while ago – but that was absurd, clearly he was still there in the mansion he had renovated for his family. Speaking of which…

"I'm _bored, _Nik, entertain me!" Kol leant against the art studio's doorframe, smirking widely, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Klaus growled lightly, but his younger brother took no heed, instead walking into the room and taking a seat in an armchair. "A bit doom and gloom tonight, are we?" he asked, inclining his glass towards the painting Klaus had been working on.

Klaus turned back to the canvas, taking in the scene of horror. Bodies lay on the ground, their hearts torn out of their chests and eyes glazed in horror. It was dark, even by his standards. "Perhaps I'm simply in a black mood tonight, brother," he replied dismissively.

(But he could've sworn he'd been painting a landscape not moments earlier – hadn't he?)

Kol laughed, downing the drink in his hand. "Oh Niklaus – so obsessed with all that blood on your hands, you never know when the memories will pop up, do you?"

Klaus frowned, turning around so that he could face his younger brother. Kol looked as carefree as ever, lounging in that armchair as if it were a throne, not a care in the world. The glint in his eyes was another story though; it told of something darker his brother was hiding, Klaus was sure of it.

"What are you going on about, Kol," Klaus asked wearily. His brother was a menace most of the time, but was known for occasional bouts of insight.

Kol just laughed again, but the sound was cold. _Wrong. _"You never did pay much attention to what was right in front of you, brother. Maybe when you wake up, you'll learn to be more perceptive." With that, Kol leapt to his feet and strode out of the room, leaving a very confused Klaus in his wake.

'_What in hell…_'

Klaus turned back, determined to forget his brother's antics. The painting of a landscape just after sunset was coming together nicely.

(It _was _a landscape – why had he thought it was anything different?)

Klaus shook his head and picked up the brush, ready to continue his painting. Still, something nagged at him. Why had he started painting this piece? Usually he was struck with a certain inspiration, but he couldn't for the life of him remember the impetus for this particular piece.

"_Maybe when you wake up, you'll learn to pay more attention."_

The paintbrush fell out of his hand and clattered to the floor.

'_Kol…'_

He flashed out of his studio and ran through the hallways of his mansion. He could hear Kol's laugh echoing through the rooms, he saw the back of his jacket as he turned a corner just in front of him.

(Was he imagining it, or were the hallways suddenly longer than usual?)

He finally made it to the living room where he found Elijah and Rebekah sitting in silence in front of a roaring fire. They glanced up at their frantic brother, but neither noted anything odd about his behavior, simply staring at him passively. Klaus walked into the room, confused at their behaviour.

"Have either of you spoken to Kol lately?" he asked his siblings, scanning every corner of the room.

Rebekah scoffed. "Come off it, Nik," she said in bored tone. "Kol's dead and gone."

Klaus frowned, the memory of his little brother's charred body rushing back to him.

'_Kol's dead. Of course he is. I watched him die.' _

"I thought I spoke to him," said Klaus, a strange lump in his throat.

Elijah gave a benign smile and walked across the room to lay a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You did speak to him, Niklaus."

Klaus frowned, his mind a muddled mess. "But he's dead, Elijah. Kol's dead."

"Yes, he is." Elijah clapped his brother's shoulder and walked past him, leaving Klaus standing in the middle of the room, bewildered.

"What's the matter, Nik? Cat got your tongue?" asked Rebekah with a small laugh. She lounged on the sofa, dressed in a white beaded dress with ropes of pearls hanging around her neck. It was a costume from decades past, from a decade that had been his favourite in fact. But why would she wear it here, now?

"Are you going dancing, Rebekah?" asked Klaus. It seemed like the right question. His sister didn't answer him immediately, instead getting up and walking to over to him, lightly looping her arms around his neck.

"Why don't you dance with me?" she asked airily, moving along to the jazz music that was wafting through the mansion. Klaus obliged her, humming along to the cheerful tune that he remembered fondly.

(Why hadn't he noticed it earlier?)

"This is fun," he said with a small smile. It was nice to enjoy a moment with his little sister; he never got to do that anymore. Why was that? A cold shiver ran down his spine, the fragment of a memory slipping through his fingers.

"Why are you being so nice to me, Rebekah?" he asked with trepidation. To his surprise, his sister just shrugged, and continued dancing.

"You took away my chance at being human, and took me for granted. I hate you, completely." Her words were completely at odds with how she was behaving, but for some reason, the paradox seemed perfectly normal.

"You haven't answered my question," he said, his voice steeling against whatever the hell was going on around him today.

"Alright, I'm buttering you up," she said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "The truth is, there's a man I met at Gloria's and I want you to meet him. He's nice, though his hair's a bit funny. His name's Stefan Salvatore. Be nice when you meet him!"

Klaus frowned, and Rebekah pulled away. "I'll see you at the club tonight, Nik," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the living room. It was only when she turned the corner that the music stopped and the silence descended, allowing some clarity to wash over Klaus. Why was Rebekah here? She had left ages ago in a fit of anger, betrayed by his actions. In fact, come to think of it, he and his sister hadn't been on good terms for months, why would she be ready to share a dance? And Elijah – hadn't he left town too?

Klaus shut his eyes tightly against the sudden ache in his head. Opening them, he whirled around the room to find it cold and dark, the fire was gone, and any remnants of life had fled. No one had been here for a while, certainly none of his siblings – but what was wrong with that? Why would they be here in the first place? Why did he suddenly have the strongest feeling that he had _just _been talking to them?

"Enough of this," he muttered darkly to himself and flashed over to the front door. A walk would do him good, fresh air would calm whatever demons were running through his head. As he wound his way down the road that would lead him to the center of Mystic Falls, every oddity of the past little while struck him. What was he doing, imagining conversations with his sister that he was sure were decades old? Why would Elijah be so cryptic? And why, for God's sake, would he be having hallucinations of his dead brother taunting him with riddles?!

It was entirely possible that somebody was trying to put one over on him; if there was one thing he wasn't lacking in, it was powerful enemies. Vampires, witches, entire werewolf packs – they would all have good reason to want his mind distracted from a possible attack. He had to concentrate, remember every detail of what had happened to him lately, see if some old foe of his had taken the chance to try to interfere in his life…

* * *

_THE NIGHT BEFORE…_

_The French Quarter was quiet that night, peaceful for the two Original vampires who stood on a balcony, overlooking the streets. The mansion which Klaus and Elijah now called home was opulent, and afforded them a prime location from which to watch over the city they once ruled and now hoped to rule again. _

"_Does it seem a bit too quiet?" asked Elijah, leaning against the intricate iron railing. _

_Klaus would have normally shrugged off his brother's observation, but there was something a little off about that night, the warm air had a chill, and a thousand years of experience had taught him how to recognize when something was wrong. Still, he wasn't about to show any fears now, not when he had committed himself to reclaiming his town back from Marcel. _

"_It's fine Elijah, just give it a few more hours for people to get properly drunk and it'll be too loud to stand," said Klaus nonchalantly, swirling some scotch around in the crystal tumbler he held in his hand. _

_Elijah still seemed worried, and he walked back through the open balcony doors to the study where he took a seat in one of the leather armchairs in front of the fireplace. Klaus joined his brother after a moment, taking the armchair next to his. _

"_Have you heard from Rebekah?" asked Klaus, his voice even. _

_Elijah shot his brother a glance out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his intentions. "When I last spoke to her, she was about to leave for Prague with the boy she's travelling with. He's from Mystic Falls, I believe – Matthew Donovan?" _

_Klaus scoffed. "A human quarterback. But there's our sister, such fine taste in men." His words were quick and dismissive, and Elijah sighed in resignation, knowing reconciliation between his siblings was far off. _

"_Nevertheless, you still ask about her whereabouts regularly," said Elijah with a knowing smile. _

_Klaus scoffed again, avoiding his brother's eye. "It's wise to know where Rebekah is at all times, she does have a habit for bad choices. Don't give me that look," he said, irritated at the small smirk on Elijah's face. _

"_Forgive me brother if I think you're being obtuse again," said Elijah dryly. "But you and I both know that taking back New Orleans would be an easier task with Rebekah by our side. She knows and loves this city as much as you do. It's hardly a shame to wish for her to be here and-"_

"_I wish for nothing of the sort, Elijah." Klaus' voice held finality, and his brother gave a weary sigh once more. Suddenly feeling the study to be stifling, Klaus quickly downed his drink and got to his feet. "I think I'll take a walk." _

"_Try not to provoke one of Marcel's lackeys," warned Elijah and Klaus rolled his eyes as he strode out the door and down the grand staircase. Once outside, he took deep breath of the warm Louisiana air and again became aware of a strange chill in the air. _

_He shrugged off the odd feeling and meandered through the streets of the Quarter. Soft jazz floated through open bars, the sound of laughter and life accompanying it. For a moment, Klaus remembered the message he had left Caroline, the old promise that one day he would show her his city and all it had to offer. _

'When it's mine,'_ he thought to himself. _ 'I'll show this to her when it's all mine again.'

_With that thought, his spirits lifted considerably. He continued on with a spring in his step, passing the stalls where the witches peddled their wares. Most were gone for the night, but one sat at her table, flipping over tarot cards. _

"_Lavender for your dreams?" she called out as Klaus passed, but he ignored her. _

"_Lavender for the hybrid?" she called again and Klaus stopped in his tracks, spinning on his heel to face her. She hardly seemed threatening, and with Marcel's muzzle on the witches' magic, he doubted she was capable of much, but he still approached her with a degree of caution. _

"_How did you know I was a hybrid?" he asked her tersely, looming over her frail figure. _

"_The stories run through the streets, we all know them," she replied sagely and Klaus smirked. _

"_You've heard of me? Fantastic. Spread the word to your sisters, Marcel's 'reign' is coming to an end." He was about to continue on his way, but her voice called him back once more. _

"_Lavender for your dreams?" she asked, staring up at him intently, offering up a bunch of lavender tied together with a white ribbon. _

"_Why would I need it?" he asked, wondering why he was indulging her odd offer. _

"_Lavender helps you sleep. Wards off bad dreams." _

"_What makes you think I have bad dreams?" he asked with a dark grin. "If you think the blood on my hands gives me any pause, you're much mistaken." _

"_You should take it. You're going to need it very soon." Her voice was insistent now and although Klaus despised orders, he knew that the French Quarter witches were no soft lot . Magic banned or not, they still had their powers. _

"_What do you know, witch?" he asked, planting his hands on the table and leaning forward to invade her personal space. "Is someone threatening me? Tell me now, or you won't like what happens next." _

_The witch shook her head, pushing the lavender towards him again. "I only know what I feel, hybrid. Take my gift." _

_But Klaus had had enough of old women with vague 'feelings' and if the witch wasn't going to offer concrete information, he couldn't be bothered to take her seriously. _

"_Keep your trinkets to yourself," he said with disdain and pushed off, striding further into the darkened streets. _

_As he made his way down Bourbon Street, the odd chill was back. _

"Come away hybrid. It's time to sleep."

_The disembodied voice was no more than a whisper on the wind, but it caused him to whip around, looking for the source. Before he could identify anything though, his world went dark._

* * *

Klaus stopped dead in his tracks, the memory clear as day. What the hell was he doing in Mystic Falls?! He had gone to New Orleans, he had been intent on getting his city back, _how in the hell _did he end up back in this town?

"Who's doing this?" he asked aloud, his voice a low growl. Without realizing it, he had walked into the center of town, various people brushed past him hurriedly, none pausing to look at him or acknowledging his outburst. This only served to heighten his fury.

"Show yourself!" he yelled, his eyes tinged with yellow, fangs baring themselves. Still, not a single person around him paid him any mind. With a frustrated roar, he rushed forward, intent on grabbing the throat of the middle-aged man coming towards him, but just as his fingers met the skin of the human's jugular, he vanished into thin air.

"What in hell…" Klaus muttered, whirling around him. The town, which had been populated seconds ago, was now completely empty. Not a soul stood on the streets and as much as he concentrated, Klaus couldn't hear a single heartbeat. It was completely deserted.

He tore down the street, turning the corner but still couldn't find a single sign of life. As he ran through the small town, he finally came to a stop in front of the town square.

"_Nononono…" _

His head snapped up at the sound of a young woman's voice. In the middle of the town square sat a familiar blonde head of hair, and he didn't think he had ever been more relieved to see the vision of Caroline Forbes. She held her head in her hands, and seemed to be in some sort of distress, and he wondered if whatever had happened to him was affecting her too.

"Caroline," he called out, and her head darted up instantly, locking gazes with his. She seemed confused at first, but as he strode towards her, she stood up, meeting him halfway.

"You can see me?" she asked tentatively, once he stood in front of her.

Klaus frowned, what kind of question was that? He wanted to drink in the sight of her, every bit as beautiful as he remembered, but their surroundings quickly brought forward the problems at hand.

"Of course I see you – Caroline, what's going on? What is this?"

She gasped a little. "You too? You see it too – how everything's so messed up and freaking _weird _and-"

Caroline stopped abruptly, drawing herself together. Suddenly, she grabbed a handful of his shirt-front and yanked him towards her.

"Tell me right now, Klaus!" she said fiercely. "If this is you messing with me, tell me right now, _what the fuck is going on?!" _

With a light growl, Klaus wrapped a hand around her wrist and tugged it firmly, forcing her to let go of her grip, but taking care not to hurt her.

"Listen carefully, Caroline. For once – and I know this may be hard to believe – I have absolutely no idea what is happening to us."

* * *

**And there's the first chapter! Confused? I suppose you should be, I'm confused and I wrote the thing. But the important thing is that Klaus and Caroline are confused together, and that's all we can really ask of our OTP, isn't it?  
**

**The chapter quote is from my favourite movie, the inspiration for this story, _Inception._**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!**

**Feel free to follow me on Tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne. **


	2. The Stuff of Nightmares

**Author's Note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews and alerts, I'm so glad you're all willing to put up with the confusion to get to the story. Apologies for not being able to reply to your reviews (this thing called university got in the way, it's really annoying), but I'll be getting to that as soon as this is posted. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter-and remember, if it doesn't make sense, that's intentional, and not a plot hole. Mostly. **

**Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Julie Plec and co. **

* * *

_Reality is never as bad as a nightmare, as the mental tortures we inflict on ourselves  
-Sammy Davis Jr._

_Your nightmares follow you like a shadow, forever  
-Aleksandar Hemon_

For an eighteen year old, Caroline had been through a lot. She'd been killed by the girl who looked like her best friend and woken up as a creature previously thought to be the purview of guilty-pleasure teenage novels. She'd engaged in crazy wars with supernatural beings intent on breaking curses and finding cures and somehow, throughout torture and mayhem and _every single fucking thing_ that had been thrown at her, she had persevered. She was Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls, Vampire Barbie, and she could handle _anything. _

She wasn't too sure she could handle this, however.

The town square remained stubbornly deserted, and the silence that had been so unnerving was back in full force. For some reason though, Caroline was now completely aware of it. The entire day her mind had been muddy, she had been imagining conversations with her dead father and forgetting just what stage of her life she was in, but now she realized she had absolutely perfect clarity. She knew who and where she was, and as she replayed the events of the day, they all came back, crystal clear. Nothing made sense – somebody or something was seriously screwing with her. The only upside was the feeling that a fog was lifting, similar to the feeling of awareness when compulsion was lifted.

And where there was compulsion, there was usually an Original.

Klaus stood in front of her, alternating between watching her and searching the world around them. He looked about as on edge as she was, but for the moment, she wasn't about to just assume that this didn't tie back to him somehow. To be fair though, he wasn't gloating or teasing or being his usual smug self – in fact he looked as frazzled as she felt. She suspected he was waiting for another outburst, and frankly, she was more than happy to deliver.

"How can you not know what's happening?!" she asked heatedly. "You're _Klaus,_ you're a thousand years old, you're 'The Original Hybrid', when something insane happens in this town, you're involved!"

Klaus gritted his teeth, trying to keep his wits together, dragging a hand over his face. He didn't want to hurt Caroline. He knew that, really. But this entire scenario was grating on his last nerve, and her panicking wasn't helping.

"As flattered as I am that you hold my expertise in such high regard," he said, internally smirking at her eye-roll, "I'll repeat myself: this wasn't me. I didn't do this, but rest assured, when I find out just who is responsible I will be more than happy to put a thousand years of experience to good use."

His voice had lowered to growl he reserved for instilling fear in any living creature that dared cross his path but Caroline just scoffed. At least now she believed that he was telling the truth and this wasn't down to him – but that didn't rule out the option that someone was doing this _because _of him.

"I still think this is related to you somehow," Caroline muttered darkly, crossing her arms.

Klaus bristled at her accusation. "Look here love, I understand that you aren't having a pleasant time but I'll thank you not to willfully attack me when you have no proof!" He took a step away from her, carefully appraising her defensive stance. She did genuinely appear afraid, but this wouldn't be the first time someone had used her in a scheme to lower his defenses.

"Tell me, Caroline," he said, stalking closer to her, "how do I know this isn't on you? How do I know this is some ploy you and your friends aren't pulling the strings, trying to catch me or kill me or-"

"Seriously?!" she interjected, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "You think this is _me?! _Do you honestly think that I would let myself go through this too?!" With that off her chest, she turned back to the bench she'd been sitting down and sat down, resuming her hunched position and holding her head between her hands. Trying to ease the growing tension she massaged her temples, but no luck. Through all of this, she was acutely aware of Klaus watching her, and for a moment she wondered why he was still with her, why he hadn't gone away.

(Not that she was about to admit it out loud, but she was sort of glad he was there with her. All things considered, he was a friendly face right now, though it's possible that's the weirdest thing to happen all day.)

Klaus struggled between leaving and staying. On one hand, he wanted to run, track down whomever was causing this and rip them limb from limb. On the other hand, seeing Caroline looking so defeated was tugging at his conscience. Not that he had caused this particular predicament, but he didn't like seeing her in pain.

(Even though he's caused her enough pain for her immortal lifetime.)

Whatever was happening, she was the only one who seemed to be going through it too. And with no obvious enemy in sight, then maybe an ally wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Besides, this was Caroline – he'd be a damned fool to willfully deny himself of her company. Warily, so as not to earn more of her ire, he walked over to her and took a seat next to her on the bench. Not as close as he would like to be, but close enough that he could smell her lavender shampoo. Hesitantly, he laid a hand on her shoulder.

Caroline jumped when she felt his hand, and snapped her head up to meet his wary gaze. It struck her that he was just as lost in this as she was. And she knew that she should do something about his hand on her shoulder and his close proximity…except she didn't mind it nearly as much as she knew she should have. In fact, it felt nice. Really nice. The first bit of comfort she'd felt since she woke up that morning.

(Dear God, Klaus was comforting her. Had everything gone to hell in one day?)

Gulping down a breath of air, she felt her headache recede a little. She wondered if that was solely due to Klaus' presence, but she'd debate that later, right now she just wanted to know what the hell was happening to them. Klaus looked guarded, but he wasn't snapping at her, so maybe it was time to be a big girl and work this out.

"Truce?" she asked quietly.

"Of course," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently. They sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Klaus took a good look around them. "How should I acquit myself?" he asked with a rueful smile.

"What are you – oh, right…" Caroline realized what he was getting at; he had been referring to that night when he had followed her out of the Grill, daring her to take a chance on him. That night seemed like it had been ages ago, but here they were again, under the stars…

Wait – something was wrong there.

"Klaus," she said, her voice slightly panicked, "did it suddenly just become night?"

Klaus frowned, staring up at the starry sky before realizing that she was right – a few seconds ago it had been the middle of the day, and now it looked like time had jumped forward several hours. In fact, if he had to guess he'd say that this night resembled the one he'd just been thinking of perfectly. This was where he had sat next to Caroline, asking her about her hopes and dreams, the place where he had felt the phantom pang of the stake as her friends had tried to kill his brother. But he shook that thought off. That was not something he wanted to relive. Not now, when everything else was turned on its head.

"Let's just try to remain calm, shall we?" asked Klaus, working to keep his tone placid. Caroline was starting to hyperventilate again, but after a few deep breaths, she managed to get herself in check, and she nodded wearily.

"Right, calm – I can do calm," she muttered, more for her own benefit than for his. "Maybe we should just…compare notes? I woke up this morning and it was like I'd been taken to the freaking twilight zone!"

"Well that was today," said Klaus, thinking over her words, "what happened last night?"

"Last night?" Caroline racked her brain, bringing the memory back. "Last night I think I was with…Elena. And Bonnie? No, that's not right – we were _talking _about Bonnie, I was really worried about her." Caroline shut her eyes and massaged her temples. "I left the boarding house and I went home and then…and then…" she trailed off, realizing that everything after that was a void.

"_Ugh, _I can't remember a thing after that!" she yelled, frustrated beyond belief. She was a _vampire_, she didn't get holes in her memory anymore, she hated the thought of being weak and vulnerable to whomever wanted to screw with her – it reminded her of all that had happened when she was human.

(She couldn't be that weak little human girl. Not again. )

"Caroline, love, just…relax, we'll be fine."

"Oh, you're so sure about that, are you?" she asked, slightly hysteric as she stood up from the bench and started to pace in front of him, her fists clenching by her side.

Klaus was no better off than she was, but right now, one of them needed to keep a clear head. Swallowing down his own confusion, he fought to remain as tranquil as possible.

"We're going to be _fine,_ sweetheart, why don't you just sit down? "

Caroline stopped her frantic movements and looked down at him. Somehow, he managed to get through her trepidation. She knew she was being ridiculous, so with a resigned sigh, she dropped into the seat opposite him, and propped an elbow on the table, picking up a fry off her plate and idly twirling it between her fingers.

"Well, I guess I might as well get some comfort food while I panic," she said, popping the fry in her mouth.

Klaus smiled, glad that he had gotten her to calm down. There was no mistaking the small swell of pride that he was actually capable of providing comfort to her. But just as suddenly, the warm feeling evaporated.

"Caroline," he asked slowly, not wanting to spook her, "when did we get inside the Grill?"

Caroline dropped the fry she had picked up and whirled her head around. The Grill looked completely normal, the diners were back chatting amongst themselves and her and Klaus sat at a table in the center of the restaurant. "We walked in," she said, not believing the words even as she said them. "We were outside, and you wanted me to calm down so we came in here and ordered food – _didn't we?" _

But Klaus remained skeptical, fighting to recall every second of memory. "We were outside just now, sitting on that bench not a second ago. I told you to take a seat…and then we were here."

Caroline took a few meditative breaths, searching her brain for every piece of advice ever given to her about how to remain calm in a stressful situation. None of it helped.

"Oh my god," she muttered, gripping the edge of the table. "Oh my god, what the fuck is _happening_?"

Klaus clenched and unclenched his fists, laying his palms flat on the table. "Relax, love, let me just think about what I was doing before all of this."

"Yeah, why aren't you in New Orleans?" asked Caroline, not sure why that little detail managed to make its way through the myriad of everything else that was going on.

(She also wasn't sure what to make of the fact that whenever she thought about Klaus supposedly being in New Orleans, she felt weirdly discontented.)

"That's the thing; I _was _in New Orleans, just last night. And I had been walking through the Quarter, there was this witch…she knew something was going to happen…" Klaus trailed off, trying to recall every detail about the woman who had spoken to him last night.

"A witch?" asked Caroline. "There's a witch behind all of this?"

"That's just it, I have no idea," Klaus replied, though a possibility struck him. "This might be one of Marcel's schemes," he spat, hating the thought.

"Who's Marcel?" asked Caroline. If this was another world domination plot that she managed to become collateral damage in, she would scream.

"Marcel was my protégé, turned enemy. He's currently ruling New Orleans under the misconception that _he _is king, which is utter nonsense, I was in the process of planning my takeover of the-"

Caroline held up a hand to stop him, "Okay, I don't need the battle plans," she said with a roll of her eyes. "If Marcel is so concerned with you, why would he do anything to me, he doesn't even know who I am!"

Klaus remained silent, but the obvious answer hung in the air. If by some slim chance Marcel had managed to find out about his time in Mystic Falls then there was always the possibility that he had realized who Caroline was…and who she was to him. She was one of his few weaknesses, after all. He managed to keep in his growl, not wanting to alert Caroline to the scope of danger she might be in, but his worry grew. No matter how much he wished Caroline could be by his side as he took New Orleans, he didn't want her anywhere near this.

Deciding to change the subject, he focused on their current predicament. "Let's just figure out what's going on now and how to get out of this, hmm?" he asked, hoping he could keep her mind off whatever new enemies she might have inadvertently picked up because of him. "Today's been weird for both of us – what happened to you? Think the day through."

Caroline focused on his voice, wondering how he managed to remain so cool under pressure. The last thing she needed to do right now was make herself look like a hysterical baby vampire who couldn't control her emotions, so she decided to take a leaf from his book and pull herself together.

"I got up, I got ready for school – for some reason, I thought I was still going to school, weird right?" Klaus nodded along and she continued. "I went downstairs and I saw my mom and my dad – my dad was there. And he was alive, and it was like nothing had changed, everything was so _normal…_ and then I realized that everything was wrong." Her voice dropped off on the last word, and for the first time she felt the weight of how much she had wanted that vision, or hallucination, or whatever the hell it had been, to be real.

Klaus noticed the flash of grief that crossed her face and wanted to say something to reassure her but before he could, she shook off the sadness.

"Anyway, so after I realized my dad shouldn't have been there, they were both gone. Just like that. I thought I had imagined it or something, I had already forgotten most of it. I was halfway to school before I remembered that I had _graduated, _so I came here. But, nobody could see me, and then, they just disappeared. And that's when I saw you." She finished her story and then looked up at him expectantly. "Alright, your turn."

Klaus processed her story before turning his attention to his own. "I was in my studio, painting. That's the first thing I remembered from today. Looking back, I don't remember starting it, I don't even remember getting to Mystic Falls. But I thought nothing of it – not even when Kol showed up."

"_Kol_?! How could he be-"

"Well that's the thing, isn't it love?" Klaus asked, leaning back in his chair. "How were my brother and your father, both of whom are very _dead, _able to show up and have conversations with us? As it happens, I did realize what was wrong with that scenario, and Kol disappeared, like your father did. I came across my other siblings, but they were just as confusing. So I walked into town, and remembered where I was last night. Then everybody in this bloody town just vanished…except for you."

Letting out a simultaneous breath, Klaus and Caroline both sat in silence, both quietly regarding each other. Klaus noted that both he and Caroline had had similar days. They had seen their families together, happy and harmonious. He was the one who had once told her that they were the same, but it was only now that he was realizing just how deep their commonalities ran.

Caroline remained uncharacteristically silent, her mind grasping at straws to remember every detail of what had happened that morning. Now that she knew something was going on, she could recall more if she concentrated. All she could focus on was how nice her dad had been, how happy and carefree…but how could she have thought it was real? Last time she checked, her father hated who she was.

"Penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?"

"My dad – I was just thinking about him." She lifted her head suddenly, realizing that there was music floating through the air.

_Sweet Caroline,  
Good times never seemed so good…_

For the first time since he had seen her that day, Klaus watched a smile spread across Caroline's face.

"This was my dad's favourite song," she said, her voice laced with nostalgia. "It's where he got my name. He used to sing it to me when I was a kid. And then he-" She stopped suddenly, her face paling and eyes going as wide as saucers.

Klaus frowned, leaning forward over the table. "Caroline, love? What's wrong?"

"My Dad. He's right over there."

Klaus whipped his head around, only to meet the cold stare of Bill Forbes. He had never met the man himself, but he knew the bare details of the story. Caroline had buried her dad with no regrets, but their relationship was rocky at best. Now he wondered just how rocky it had been.

Caroline shrank back in her seat as her father's incensed glare landed on her. In that stare she felt every bit of disappointment, every bit of contempt he had held for her. Futilely she tried to remember the last conversation they had had together, when they had made peace before he passed away – but she couldn't bring the conversation to mind no matter how hard she tried. He didn't look at all like he was at peace – he looked angrier than she had ever seen him. And then she knew why.

If her father hated the kind of vampire she was, then there was no telling what he thought about Klaus. And seeing them together…it didn't matter that it none of it made sense. All she knew was that she needed to get out.

Klaus caught on to her distress and tried to get her attention back on him. "Love, I don't know what's going on, but please just pay attention to me, just…"

But his platitudes couldn't stop the tense stare down occurring between father and daughter. In a second, Caroline pushed up from the table and ran out of the restaurant. None of the other patrons batted an eyelash, but Klaus didn't even have time to try and make sense of it. Turning back, he found Bill Forbes had disappeared into thin air and would have tried to figure out what the hell was going on, but he had more pressing matters. He flashed from the table and ran out the front doors after Caroline.

On the pavement outside the Grill, Caroline was pacing, taking deep breaths. She snapped her head up when Klaus stood in front of her, and gently, the hybrid placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Look at me, Caroline, pay attention to me. If there is one thing I can relate to, it's having your father hate you, so I _know_ what this feels like, but please, love, you have got to _calm down." _

Caroline looked up at him for a moment. He was completely earnest, committed to helping her regain control. She needed to pull herself together; she had to help him figure out what was going on. Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded resolutely. "I'm fine," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "I'll be fine.

Klaus heaved an internal sigh of relief, but he didn't back away from her. Truthfully, he was feeling more rattled than he led on, but he knew he needed to keep it together for her sake, there was no use for both of them to lose their heads. It nagged at him though, the fear she reacted with to seeing her father. A sour relationship was one thing, but to be _scared…_he knew what it meant to be scared of your own father. And frankly, he didn't like the implications.

"He won't hurt you," Klaus said with resolve. He was taking a chance, but something in her eyes told him he was on the right path. "I'm not going to let him hurt you, you're safe."

"Careful boy – you don't want to make promises you won't be able to keep."

Klaus' jerked away from Caroline, spinning on his heel to find the last person in the world he ever wanted to see.

'_Not here, not now.' _

"Hello _father," _he spat. For whatever ungodly reason, Mikael stood there, as sneering and contemptuous as he had been the last time he had taunted his bastard son. He didn't know if Mikael was a ghost, or an apparition, but he was in no mood to deal with this, and neither, he suspected, was Caroline.

As soon as his own thoughts hit upon the blonde, Mikael seemed to notice her as well, peering at her, a cruel smirk twisting his face. "She won't last, you know. And you won't be able to save her – but then, you're well acquainted with disappointing people, aren't you?

Klaus growled and ran forward, but his father was gone before he could touch him. Behind him, Caroline stood on defense, looking around and expecting Mikael to jump her any second.

"Klaus, where'd he go?!" she asked, panic coming back.

Klaus was on edge but he took his place next to her again. "God knows where he is but I doubt he could do much damage, trust me on that."

She shot him a small, grateful smile before a voice interrupted the moment. "Really, Caroline? You trust _him?_ I thought I taught you better than that." Caroline whipped around to find her own father standing behind her, and she didn't miss how angry he was or the stake in his hand.

"Daddy…please, why are you doing this?" she asked, a little desperately. "You were proud of me, remember? You told me how strong I was."

"Caroline, how could I be proud of a _vampire?" _His voice was as cold as steel. He began to advance towards her and Caroline had the distinct impression that all the air was being sucked out of her lungs. Regardless of the fact that she was outside, it felt like the walls were closing in and her father was getting closer and closer…

Dimly, she registered Klaus standing next to her, pleading with her to look at him, pay attention to him. But she just couldn't look away from her father and she knew that she had to move, _fast. _So, she turned and ran.

The image of Bill Forbes disappeared along with his daughter, and Klaus swore loudly, preparing to run after her, but he hadn't made it two feet before Mikael was back, standing before him with an infuriatingly smug look on his face.

"So quick to run off, Niklaus? Stay and chat – or can you not face the father you killed?"

Klaus snarled, knowing that Mikael was doing everything in his power to rile him up. But if he was ever to figure out what the bloody hell was going on then he had to keep his head. And that meant he couldn't give in to his father's jibes.

"Believe me _father, _if it were an option I would commune with you every single day, simply to remind you that _I won." _

Mikael barely bat an eyelash, he simply clasped his hands behind his back and strode forward. "You won? Are you sure about that? Tell me Niklaus, how many brief moments of happiness did you have before realizing it wasn't enough? Did you find your _army _to live up to your expectations?" He broke off his questioning, choosing instead to laugh in his son's face, the sound cold and cruel. Klaus stood his ground, but for one fleeting, pathetic moment, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Say what you like, the fact remains that I ran a stake through your _heart!"_ Klaus narrowed his eyes, looking Mikael over critically. "Tell me, what are you? A ghost? Hallucination?" He took a step forward, preparing to attack. "Tell me now, _who is doing this to us?"_

"My God, have you really not figured it out?" asked Mikael in disbelief. "You're losing your touch, boy." He laughed again, before turning and staring down the road, the direction Caroline had gone. "Perhaps it's not all you – perhaps the girl clouds your judgment."

Klaus stiffened. His sudden tenseness did not go unnoticed.

"Relax Niklaus, has one girl really twisted your character so? Maybe I _will _kill her – it would do you a favour."

Klaus growled, flashing forward to grab Mikael but the man was gone again, reappearing a few feet away.

"My my, you've really grown attached, haven't you? But you have to know, the chances of her ever returning your affections are nonexistent. So what does it matter if I end her life?"

Breathing heavily, Klaus fought to keep his thoughts on the enemy in front of him. He could hear nothing of Caroline, and he wondered how far she had run and whether her father was still after her. If Mikael turned his attentions to her as well, he wasn't sure what horrors he would try to inflict on her.

Klaus couldn't let that happen.

"Listen carefully, old man – you are nothing more than a figment, be it one of my own imagination or a trick of my enemies. You have _no _power here!" Klaus' voice had risen to a roar, and only now did Mikael appear to be fazed.

"No power?" he hissed. "Tell me, how can you be so sure I have no power, when you have no idea where 'here' is?" He moved so fast that Klaus almost didn't even see him attack, but he managed to brace himself as Mikael wrapped a hand around his throat.

Grasping Mikael's wrist, Klaus managed to wrench it away from his neck and twist it, breaking the bone in an instant. Pure fury surged through him, and his vision swam with red. He had finished this fight. He had _defeated _the bastard, why was he being forced to go through this again? He didn't get more time to think about this as Mikael yelled in anger, and pulled out a long, thin object from his jacket. It was a moment before Klaus realized what it was – a white oak stake.

"Impossible!" Klaus yelled, just as Mikael ran forward. He managed to wrap his hand around the stake just as it was poised to sink into his chest and pierce his heart.

"Give in boy," spat Mikael, putting all his strength into pushing the stake forward. "Give in and realize that there is no way to win this. You'll never be good enough. Not for anybody, and especially not for _her." _

Klaus gripped the stake tighter, determined not to lose, not to him, not like this. Through his hatred came a burst of clarity. This wasn't real – none of this could be real.

"This isn't real," he muttered, with effort.

"Give in," taunted Mikael.

"This can't be real," Klaus spat, feeling his strength swell.

"_Give in," _said Mikael, and that was enough to push Klaus over the edge.

"_YOU. ARE. DEAD!' _Klaus roared and pushed the stake away and Mikael with it. He stood in the middle of a deserted street, looking everywhere for his father, but whatever apparition had stood before him, it was gone now, completely.

The truth nagged at him, there was an answer to all of this that should have been obvious, and it danced at the edge of his mind. But before he could grasp it, he heard a female scream coming from the distance.

"Caroline!"

* * *

She wasn't sure how far she had run, or for how long. All she knew was that she'd left the town center a long time ago and made her way into the woods where branches snapped under her feet and leaves whipped past her face.

"Stop running Caroline! You're only making it worse for yourself!" Her father's voice sounded close behind her, and for a fleeting moment, Caroline wondered how he was able to keep up with her, but that thought soon got lost under the constant mantra of _'keep running.' _

She wished she could have stopped and tried to talk to her father, but some instinctive part of her knew that it would only end badly. If she gave him a chance, he would kill her. The thought broke her heart and deep down she knew it made no sense, but all she could do was run deeper and deeper into the forest.

Caroline skidded to a stop in a small clearing, frantically looking around for her father. There was nobody with her, and she couldn't hear or smell another living soul for miles. Maybe it was over. Maybe she was finally safe.

"Why did you run, Caroline?"

Maybe she was wrong.

She faced her father down as he stepped out from the tree line around the clearing, wondering how the hell she had missed him a second ago. He remained steely, his hand still gripping the stake, and he took a few steps forward, readying to attack.

Caroline gulped, torn between standing her ground and running. On one hand, every fiber of her being was yelling at her to move as fast as possible, but a small part of her, the part that craved affection was telling her that this is her _father _and they parted on good terms.

At least, she thought they did.

"Are you a ghost?" she asked nervously. Maybe the veil was down again, maybe somebody had summoned him, all she knew was that he seemed to have a singular mission in mind.

"Haven't you figured out where you are, Caroline?" he asked skeptically. "Well I guess it doesn't matter – just give in, Caroline, it'll be over soon."

"_No!_ Dad, what is the matter with you?!" Just like that, her fear had turned to anger. "How could you do this to me again, after everything that happened?! You told me that you were proud of me, you told me-"

"That doesn't matter Caroline!" he yelled and she flinched back. "You're a vampire. You're a monster. I should have tried harder to fix you when I had the chance."

"No…" Caroline whispered, fighting to keep tears at bay. She wasn't going to allow herself to be weak. If this had to happen, she was putting up a fight.

"You can't fight me, Dad," she said, trying to sound strong. "I'm a vampire, I'm stronger than you – I'm not a little girl anymore."

Bill's frown deepened, and Caroline swore she could actually feel the disappointment rolling off him. "You know Caroline, I'm not the only one who's ever tried to stop you."

"What are you…"

"Remember us, Caroline?" The familiar line and familiar voice caused ice to run through Caroline's veins and she snapped her head around to meet the angry gazes of twelve dead witches, the entire coven she had killed to save Bonnie's life. They advanced slowly, fanning out to form a line on her right. Her father stood before her and she was starting to think she was seriously outnumbered.

"What's the matter sweet pea? In over your head?"

Caroline fought back a gasp at the sight of Brady, the werewolf who had once locked her in a cage and tortured her, walking through the trees on her left, flanked by Jules and the other members of their werewolf pack.

"No freaking way, you're all dead!" she yelled out, terror rising.

Simultaneously, every single enemy in that clearing laughed, united in their mockery of her. She didn't know how to believe any of this was happening; this was something out of her very worst nightmares. They circled her completely now, and she knew that she was well and properly trapped.

"You're all dead," she repeated, hoping that the more she said it, the more this would all make sense. "You're all supposed to be dead!"

"And here we are, Caroline. Dead because of you, or your friends," said her dad, coming forward again, but for the first time that night, he looked sympathetic. "I know it's hard being a vampire, sweetie. Just give in, let me kill you. Then you won't be able to hurt anyone else."

For one moment, she wondered if it would be easier to just listen to her father. But then that moment was shattered by an enraged shout.

"_Caroline!" _ Klaus broke through the tree line and in the second she met his eyes, she was brought out of her shock and knew she had to fight, _fast. _But before she could manage to move far, she felt a searing pain through her skull and crashed to her knees, holding her head. Her vision went blurry, and she could just make out Klaus fighting the werewolves, tearing through them like butter. She wanted to get up, to help him, but the entire coven was channeling their powers.

"Relax, Caroline. It's going to be over soon." Her father's voice was gentle as he crouched down next to her and he brushed her hair behind her ear. She almost believed he was trying to comfort her.

And that's when he plunged the stake in her heart.

"_NO!" _ Klaus dropped the werewolf he had by the throat and focused instead on the figure of Caroline crumpled on the ground, a stake protruding from her chest. He flashed over to her side immediately, picking her up and cradling her against his chest. Everybody else had vanished – the witches, the werewolves, her father, they were all gone.

But Klaus had no time to think about any of that, all he knew was that Caroline was immobile in his arms. He was wracked with anger and desperation, thinking through every possible way this wasn't happening, but the piece of wood through her heart wasn't disappearing like every other nightmare had that night. "Come on love, wake up, _please," _he muttered desperately, knowing that it was ultimately futile.

"Klaus?!"

(Well, maybe futility had taken a holiday.)

Caroline's eyes had snapped open and she tried to sit up, Klaus backing away slightly and letting her. He flinched at the shriek she gave upon seeing the stake still embedded in her chest.

"What the _fuck?!"_ she asked, panic. "Where are they, where's my dad, the witches, where are-"

"Caroline, relax, they're gone," said Klaus quickly, grabbing her shoulders and turning her to face him. "It's just us here."

"Oh, okay," she muttered in relief, turning her attention to the piece of wood in her chest. With a hesitant look at Klaus, she grasped it and yanked it out, gasping in pain, but otherwise fine.

"How is this happening, Klaus?" she asked him, staring at the piece of wood in her hands that was covered in her blood. "How did I just survive a fucking stake to the heart?!"

"Really love, I don't know that you should be complaining," Klaus replied, filled with pure relief. She was alive, she was fine. Whatever happened now, he was holding on to that, no matter how enraged she was.

"Not complain?! Are you kidding me?" she yelled, flashing to her feet, Klaus following. "This entire day has been like something from the Twilight Zone, I've been seeing _dead people,_ I've been _staked – _this is like some sort of nightmare come to life and-"

Klaus jolted as he realized what she was saying.

'…_like some sort of nightmare come to life.'_

"That's it, Caroline," he said, every piece of today falling together to show him the whole picture. "That's what's happening here."

"What do you mean?" she asked wearily, feeling exhaustion catching up to her. Klaus held her shoulders, squeezing them lightly, and after all that had just happened, she's finding the gesture surprisingly reassuring. "Do you know what's going on?"

Klaus nodded grimly. "I think I do. Caroline – I think we're _dreaming_."

* * *

**And that's a wrap for now! At least they know what's going on, and hopefully you're all still following along. Leave a review and let me know what you think, or if you have any questions! Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you at the next chapter!**

**(Feel free to follow me on tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne, and leave me a note telling me that procrastinating on my term papers by writing this fic is a totally responsible life choice.)**


	3. Curiouser and Curiouser

**Author's note: Hope you're all having a great weekend! I've finally got past some midterms and a term paper, and before I have to get to the rest of them, here's an update! Thank you so much for your kind words and alerts, you're all lovely people, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nada. **

* * *

_You never know. Maybe when we're dreaming...we're more lucid than when we are awake_

_-Katherine Angela Yeboah_

Sun streamed in through the window as Elena Gilbert pulled open the curtains in her boyfriend's bedroom. Said boyfriend could be heard making breakfast in the kitchen, and she could hear him bickering with her little brother. A small smile spread on her face, and she quickly got dressed, stopping just before she left the room to check her phone.

No texts. No missed calls. No voicemails. Nothing. It wasn't that she was too worried just yet. Out of the three people she had been hoping to hear from, two were vampires and the third a witch, there wasn't a lot that could happen to them, especially since their biggest obstacles had moved to New Orleans and been trapped in stone respectively Still, something nagged at her.

Elena could understand Stefan leaving. She shut her eyes against the wave of guilt that flooded through her, taking deep breaths. Stefan needed time and space – the least she could do was respect that. As for Bonnie, the witch had done so much for all of them that she over everybody deserved a rest. If Bonnie wasn't ready to call, that was fine – Elena hoped her friend was enjoying herself, whatever she was doing. She was worried, but she wasn't as concerned as Caroline.

That was the latest issue to crop up. Ever since Caroline had left two nights ago, she hadn't heard a word from the blonde. She assumed Caroline was trying to get back in touch with Tyler, or maybe packing for college, but it was odd of her to not pop up for two days, especially since Caroline had taken it upon herself to constantly check up on everybody and make sure they were okay. Elena knew Caroline felt like making sure her friends were alright was one of the last few things the blonde could do to maintain the control she craved, and after everything that had happened to them, Elena couldn't blame her.

"Morning sleepyhead," Elena was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of Damon leaning against the open doorframe, a lazy smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes but grinned back, flashing over to him to give him a quick kiss. "Now, is there any reason you decided to stay in here instead of getting breakfast? Little Gilbert thinks he can cook better eggs than me and I need you to take my side on this."

Elena just laughed and Damon wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her out of the bedroom and down the hallway. She seemed relaxed enough, but he didn't miss the nervous glances she kept shooting her the phone in her hand.

"Hey, relax, Stefan's probably fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "You know my brother, he's probably found a nice coffee shop somewhere and is writing out his hopes and dreams in a new journal."

Elena managed a smile but the uneasiness didn't go away. "It's not just Stefan I'm worried about," she admitted hesitantly. "I'm a little worried about Caroline, she's not taking my calls."

"Maybe Blondie's taking a 'me day'" Damon suggested.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Caroline _always _takes her calls, Damon. Plus, I'm starting to think she might've been right about Bonnie," she said as they both stepped into the Boarding House's spacious kitchen.

"What about Bonnie?" Jeremy asked, looking up from the stove. He looked a little nervous for some reason, and Elena noticed he couldn't meet her eyes. But, she reasoned he was as worried about Bonnie as the rest of them, after all he'd barely gotten to spend any time with her after he was brought back.

"Elena's just worried that witchy hasn't been answering her phone calls. What?!" he asked in response to the Gilberts' matching glares.

"_Bonnie, _is just… taking some time to relax," said Elena, trying to believe her own words. "You don't have to worry, Jer," she said, shooting a kind smile towards her brother. He nodded but remained silent, shifting his attention back to the stove.

"What about Blondie?" asked Damon through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. Elena sat down next to him at the island countertop and dug into a plate he set in front of her, thoughts drifting towards her bubbly friend.

"Caroline's probably designing our dorm room," said Elena, sounding much more convinced than she actually felt. "But I'll drive over to her house, check in – you know Caroline, when she gets in the zone the rest of the world disappears."

"I still think you're overreacting," said Damon, preparing for further snark but Elena's glare quickly changed his mind. "Did I say overreacting? I meant caring, very, very caring."

"Smooth," said Elena with a smirk, and the three of them finished their breakfast chatting about mundane matters, avoiding all the serious stuff that was hovering over them. Elena worried about her brother, there was no telling what the consequences were to being brought back to life the way he had been, and he seemed to be weirdly secretive about something all summer. She couldn't guess what it was, but she trusted that eventually, he'd tell her. Well, hopefully.

Once they were done, Elena grabbed her purse and gave Damon a quick peck on the lips goodbye. "Maybe you should try contacting Stefan?" she suggested. The younger Salvatore was the sore spot that neither of them talked about too much, but they had to talk about him sooner or later, it was inevitable. Besides, Damon was worried about him, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone.

Damon gave a resigned sigh, but otherwise complied with her suggestion. "I'll give it a shot," he said, and Elena beamed at him in return, before zipping into her car and making her way across town. The Forbes residence proved no luck, no one answered the door and Elena couldn't make out any heartbeats, human or vampire.

That was fine. Caroline could be shopping. She could be taking a short trip out to Whitmore. It wouldn't explain why she hadn't answered the phone, but maybe she just wanted a bit of a break? Elena went over every possible explanation, but some part of her, the part that had learnt from every supernatural interference in her life that this was _wrong. _Well, if she couldn't find Caroline, she'd track down the next person who'd probably know where she was.

The Mystic Falls Police station was unusually busy for a Saturday morning, clerks were running folders between desks, coffee was being brewed by the liter and deputies were hastily conversing with each other over their computers. They hushed up as soon as they saw her walk in and a few gave her polite smiles, but it was clear that something was happening to worry them that they didn't want the public to know about.

Luckily, super hearing was a perk of being a vampire, so as innocently as she could, Elena shifted some of her hair behind her ear and pretended to play on her phone, listening carefully.

"_We found another one near Highbury last night, same MO." _

"_That makes it what? Ten?"_

"_The one's that we found – what about the blood?" _

"_Elena? What are you doing here?"_

Elena jerked her head up, that last comment coming from someone right in front of her. Liz Forbes looked haggard, her short blonde hair sticking up in odd angles, her uniform wrinkled, and the bags under her eyes were worryingly prominent. Elena was immediately on alert, something was clearly wrong for Liz to look this tired, but she hadn't heard anything on her end.

"Liz…what's going on?" asked Elena hesitantly.

Liz sighed, and took a large sip from the Styrofoam cup of coffee in her hand. "Listen, we're trying to keep this quiet but…" she trailed off, looking around at the chaos around her and took Elena's arm gently guiding her to her office, where she locked the door behind her.

"I was going to call Damon soon, but I might as well tell you now," she started, taking a seat behind her desk and gesturing for Elena to take one opposite her.

"You're scaring me, what's happening?" asked Elena.

"There have been bodies. Not here," she added quickly, seeing Elena's eyes widen in fear. "But in the towns around us – Ashfield, Meadowview, and last night, Highbury. They've been popping up and the sheriffs have alerted us – they think it's a serial killer, but the bodies…they've been drained of blood."

Elena froze in her seat. "Vampire?"

"Probably. The weird thing is, they're avoiding Mystic Falls. Which I guess we shouldn't complain about, but I'm worried.

Elena nodded, thinking the situation over. "If anything happens here, let Damon and me know right away, okay?" She shot Liz a reassuring smile and the older woman returned it gratefully.

"Thanks Elena, but you shouldn't be worrying about all of this. How's the prep for college going? Have you decided what to pack?"

"Not really, but I was hoping Caroline had a better idea," she replied with a light smile.

"Oh, how is she lately? I've been so busy I'm practically living here, I don't blame her for staying over at the boarding house. Elena? Is everything alright? "

But Elena had gone stock still, her blood turning cold. "Liz…when's the last time you saw Caroline?"

"A couple of days ago. I had stopped by the house for a shower and she was on her way out to spend the evening with you. Why? What's wrong."

Elena licked her lips nervously before deciding to tell Liz the truth. "Look, I haven't seen Caroline for two days – but I'm sure she's fine!"

Liz sat up further in her chair, worry for her daughter crashing over her in waves. "Elena, the bodies…if it's a vampire…"

"No! No way, Caroline has nothing to do with any of that!" said Elena quickly. Her anxiousness grew tenfold, she knew that Caroline had absolutely nothing to do with the dead bodies, but if something were attacking humans, she wouldn't put it past her friend to try and help and maybe get hurt in the process.

"Look, I'm sure she's fine," Elena said hurriedly as she stood up. "I'm going to head back to the boarding house and try her cell again, I'm sure she's fine, you focus on what's going on here – call Damon if you need him, okay?"

After getting Liz to agree to stay at the station, Elena peeled her car out of the station's parking lot and raced back to the boarding house, slamming to a halt in the Boarding House's driveway. She had flashed through the front door in a second, and ran into the living room where she could hear Jeremy talking to somebody. Weirdly enough, only Jeremy was in the room and he jumped when she came in.

"Elena! When did you get back?"

"Just now – Jer, who were you talking to?"

"Nobody! Just…thinking out loud," he said with a shrug, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels.

Normally, Elena would've pressed farther, but she was distracted by Caroline's apparent missing status. Damon walked into the room just then, and judging from the worried look on his face, he hadn't had much luck with Stefan. He tried to look neutral as quickly as he could, but Elena knew that they had two missing persons on their hand.

"No luck?" she asked.

Damon shook his head, "Nada. I'm still not that worried though, it's _Stefan. _He can take care of himself. I know he can." The last part was to convince himself more than Elena, but he wasn't sure how much he believed it.

Elena ran a frustrated hand through her hair, "It's not just Stefan-Liz hasn't seen Caroline in days, I'm worried about her too."

"Well where would she go? Have you checked the mall?"

"Damon!" she snapped back, tensing up. She relaxed a little when Jeremy came to stand next to her, squeezing her shoulder.

"Hey, relax. She's Caroline, she's probably-"

His words were cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the house.

"That's probably one of them right now," said Jeremy. Elena released a breath and zipped over to the front door, yanking it open.

It wasn't Stefan. It wasn't Caroline. The person standing on the other side of the door was the last person she ever thought she'd see here, and now. He gave her a small nod.

"Hello Elena – may I come in?"

"Su-sure," she said, a little disoriented. He walked past her and Elena shut the door, turning back to see Damon come out of the living room and stop dead in his tracks at the sight of their visitor.

"_Elijah?! _What the hell are you doing here?!"

* * *

"We're _dreaming?_" Caroline asked incredulously. Her and Klaus remained in the woods, moonlight illuminating the small clearing that she had been attacked in. She leant against a tree on the edge of the clearing with Klaus standing in front of her, his eyes wide and darting around him, as if expecting his father to be back at any moment. And honestly, she didn't blame him, they didn't know the rules of whatever the hell this place was – they didn't know how dangerous things really were.

Caroline couldn't believe it, frankly, she didn't _want _to believe it. She was the ultimate control freak, and being a vampire didn't help that, what with the constant blood cravings, the heightened emotions and the frighteningly recurring impulse to just use her supernatural advantages to beat down anybody who got in her way. Her head was the one place she still had perfect control, where she knew exactly who she was. After what Damon had done to her, she had vowed to never let her mind be taken over again.

(Of course, being a vampire wasn't a guarantee that it would never happen.)

"It makes sense, think about it," Klaus said, his mind racing through everything that had happened to them. "We 'woke up' in this place where the impossible was happening. We saw dead family matters, we forgot where we were or the sense behind what we were doing-"

"We weren't paying attention!" interjected Caroline, finally catching up with his thinking. "I just accepted what was happening, but everything kept flipping around – and I _knew _that. I knew it but I still didn't question it." Her voice got progressively more bitter towards the end of her little revelation, and her irritation at herself rose. She should've figured it out ages earlier. She should've been smarter than this.

For his part, Klaus kept silent, his own frustration matching Caroline's. He understood that episode with their fathers now – when Caroline thought about her father, there he'd been. And as soon as his own thoughts had hit upon Mikael, the bastard had appeared. That was some relief at least; these nightmares weren't real.

'_Weren't they?'_

If they're dreaming, then all of this was on giant vivid hallucination (or so he hoped). Nothing should be able to hurt them, but then, he can still hear the echo of Caroline's scream as the stake entered her heart. There was no assuming their safety, not while they still had no idea where exactly they were and who had done this to them. Lucid dreams were hardly foreign to vampires, nor was the concept of shared dreaming. But to share a dream where neither party could remember initiating it...it wasn't just rare, it was _impossible. _

No, he refused to entertain the thought that Caroline had anything to do with this. She looked about as frazzled as he felt. This meant somebody else had a hand in the matter and when he found out just who it was, he was going to be taking his good sweet time exacting his revenge. For now though, they had to figure out the fastest way to wake up, and fast before they lost control and invited every manner of monster to come and chase them down.

Caroline lept to her feet and began to pace in front of him, racking her brain for everything and anything she had every learnt about dreams, which was unfortunately limited to one psychology class in senior year. At least she'd gotten an 'A' in it. "Right, dreams, dreams…" she muttered, more to herself than to Klaus, whom she could feel watching her warily.

"What do we know about dreams?" she asked out loud. She wanted to stamp her foot in frustration because if this were the real world, she'd be able to dig out her colour coordinated flashcards and go over everything she knew, but here, there was nothing that could help her. "I wish there was some way we could get information!" she said, stopping finally and facing Klaus. "This _sucks,_ I can't do anything, I can't research or plan or-"

She stopped abruptly as she realized that once more, the world had changed around them. The forest had given way to the Mystic Falls High School library, empty except for the hybrid and the vampire. It was daytime again, and weak rays of sunshine filtered through the windows, illuminating the stacks of books piled on the table where they both sat. It reminded Caroline of cramming for exams with Bonnie and Elena, trying hard to concentrate but eventually ending up giggling over who liked who that week while the old librarian, Mrs. Pollard glared at them over her square glasses.

"Is this your high school library?" asked Klaus, eyebrows raised when she nodded in response. "What the bloody hell are we doing here?"

"I said I wanted to research – I guess now we research!" said Caroline, reaching for the nearest book and finding it to be a replica of her old psychology textbook. She never thought she had read it very thoroughly, but here it was, recreated from some part of her memory. Alright, this she could control. This she could work with. Flipping through the pages, she picked out passages, skimming everything and anything that could possibly help them.

"Okay….dreams are mental experiences during REM sleep…everybody dreams…dreams are wish fulfillment…blah, blah blah-_ugh! _There's nothing here that can help us!" Caroline flipped through the pages so fast she risked tearing them. Across from her Klaus leant back in his chair, enjoying seeing her so focused, in her element. If she put her mind to it, he had no doubt that she could take over the world in a heartbeat.

"I wouldn't discount that 'wish fufillment' part quite yet, there's still a chance we can enjoy each other's company," he said with a smirk which only widened upon seeing Caroline roll her eyes and scoff in response. Oddly, her little gesture of derision was incredibly endearing, not to mention a signal that she was recovering from her earlier panic. He didn't want her any more affected by this place than she had to be.

"Oh wait, here's something!" said Caroline suddenly. "During lucid dreams, people can often exert some control over the events unfolding." She dropped the book down on the table and met Klaus' gaze. "Maybe we just need to concentrate? If we think hard enough, we can wake ourselves up!" She was so intent on her plan that she paid no attention to Klaus chuckling to himself.

(Let him stay here if he wanted, she was damn well getting out of here."

Ignoring him, Caroline shut her eyes tightly. "I'm dreaming," she muttered to herself. "I'm dreaming and when I open my eyes, I'm going to wake up." With that, she snapped her eyes open, only to find that nothing had changed. Klaus sat across from her with that same infuriating smirk, and Caroline huffed in annoyance.

"Why isn't this working?" she asked, but didn't wait for his answer before she tried agin, clamping her eyes shut and gripping the edge of her seat. "I'm _dreaming," _she said to herself, anticipating some shift in the air, a change in the atmosphere…but nothing. She was going nowhere.

With a resigned sigh, she opened her eyes to find that Klaus had picked up a book from the pile closest to him, and was flipping through it with a great deal of interest. "I have to say love, I had no idea how committed you were to the betterment of your school."

Caroline was confused before she realized that the book he held in his hands was not a textbook, but an old edition of the Mystic Falls yearbook, from her sophomore year judging from the date on the cover. "And how is that helping?" she asked, slightly irritated, though trying to exude nonchalance. On the inside however, she was mentally going through everything she remembered from that yearbook, trying to remember if she looked good in all the pictures.

(Not that she cared about Klaus' opinion of her, right? That was definitely not the case.)

"I've always wanted to know more about you Caroline, as long as we're in each other's heads, I might as well take advantage of the fact." He stopped on one page for a moment, and Caroline swore she could see his pupils dilate just a little. When he looked back up at her, it was to shoot her a lascivious smirk.

"What?" she asked, slightly flustered under his suddenly intense gaze.

"Nothing love, I'm just admiring the sight of you in this cheerleading uniform…" His voice is just a little lower than usual, and if his roving gaze is any indication, he's imagining her in it right now. She'd be a little more indignant, but for some reason, his attention on her just send a rush of warmth through her. Still, she managed to snap herself out of it and flashed over to his side to his side of the table, snatching up the book.

"Seriously, Klaus?! How about instead of ogling me, we focus on – hey!"

But Klaus was paying her no attention, instead, he had found another yearbook, and was eagerly flipping through it. In fact, as Caroline closely she realized that all the books around him were yearbooks, and photo albums, and as she picked up the nearest one her suspicions were confirmed – they were all pictures of _her. _

"Are you seriously dreaming this up right now?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

"Honestly love, even I couldn't make all this up – I think you're playing a bigger role than you realize."

"Doesn't mean you have to go through all of it!" she said, perching herself on the table just in front of him and picking up an old album filled with childhood photos. "Why are you so interested in these old photos anyway?"

Klaus looked up from his yearbook and regarded her intently for a moment. "I've always wondered what you were like as a human, Caroline."

She just scoffed and leant back a little. "Seriously? You don't want to go down that path. I was shallow, insecure, neurotic, constantly trying too hard to get people to like me and competing with Elena…"

As she went on, Klaus frowned and looked back at the open page in his lap, a photo of Caroline during some old school dance where she was dressed in a poodle skirt, her hair pinned up. She had her arm around the Bennet witch and was smiling widely at the camera, her eyes bright with laughter. "I think you look radiant," he said firmly, interrupting her tirade. She stopped mid-sentence and looked down at him, slightly stunned. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and she ducked her head slightly.

Klaus frowned, wondering why exactly she had such a poor opinion of her human self. Making a decision, he lifted a hand and laid it on her knee, squeezing it gently. "I would've like to have known you," he said quietly.

Caroline smiled sadly. "I doubt that. Besides, aren't you the one who's always going on about being 'strong' and 'ageless'? Believe me, if you had actually known me, you'd think that getting killed was the best thing that ever happened to-"

She stopped suddenly, sitting up straight. Klaus sighed and stood up, tired of hearing her self-deprecation. In fact, he'd go so far as to say that her view to her human self was disturbingly similar to his own. He _hated _the thought of the man he had once been…but he never would've guessed that sweet, strong Caroline could have such a derisive view of her human past.

(Maybe that's why they'd be so good for each other.)

"Caroline, you really shouldn't – Caroline? Love?"

Caroline's mind was racing a mile a minute before she snapped out of it, and turned to face Klaus, hopping off the table to stand in front of him. "Getting killed," she said, realization dawning.

"Come again?"

"Think about it Klaus – what's the one thing that always wakes you up? No matter what? _Death."_

There's something a little unnerving about hearing Caroline speak about death, which is why he suddenly feels incredibly on edge. "Caroline, what are you getting at."

"If we want to wake up, we have to find some way to die."

* * *

The Salvatore living room had seen its fair share of awkward encounters over the years, but this might have taken the cake. Damon and Elena sat next to each other on a sofa, Damon inched forward ever so slightly in front of his girlfriend, just in case. Across from them sat Elijah, looking immaculate in a well-tailored suit, who regarded them cooly. He hardly looked like he had popped in to say 'hi', but he didn't look like he was repressing rage either, which the two younger vampires took as a good sign.

"So…what brings you back to Mystic Falls?" asked Elena, rubbing her hands nervously.

"A slightly disconcerting matter – I'm looking for my brother," replied Elijah, watching them carefully for any sign of guilt or discomfort. If by some chance they had done anything to Niklaus, he would have to negotiate this quickly.

"Nope!" said Damon happily. For once, this was something they had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. "Haven't seen Papa Hybrid in weeks, and to be honest, we're trying to keep it that way. So I guess you can just-"

"Klaus is _missing?_" asked Elena in disbelief. She had spent enough time trying to avoid Klaus to know that if he was suddenly off the grid, there was a good chance he'd show up when you least expected it.

"I wouldn't say my brother is 'missing', exactly, said Elijah carefully, not wanting to show his hand. "But I haven't seen him a few days, and he's ceased all communication so…"

"So basically he's missing," said Damon, trying not to sound too gleeful. Granted, the chances that someone had managed to permanently put Klaus down were incredibly slim, but he could enjoy himself if he wanted to.

Elijah sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, and the three of them lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Elena twiddled her thumbs, before a thought occurred to her.

"Caroline's missing too," she blurted out, regretting the words as soon as she said them out loud. She knew Klaus had a thing for Caroline, but she didn't think he really do something to hurt her…but this was Klaus. You could never be sure.

"Caroline Forbes?" asked Elijah, confused. He had heard of the Forbes girl very briefly during his stay in Mystic Falls, though he recalled that his brother had taken a shine to her. She had accompanied him to their mother's ball, but Elijah had been distracted with everything else going on at the time, he'd never actually gotten a chance to ask his brother who the young blonde was.

Now though, he hoped his brother's impulsiveness hadn't caused some untold amount of trouble. "Has Bonnie tried tracking her?" he asked.

Elena shook her head, looking more worried than before. "Bonnie's out of town at the moment," she said, looking down at her hands. "She's not really ready…it's been a hard year for her. She needed the break."

Elijah nodded, but knew that it was now time to involve magic, be it Bonnie Bennet's or not. Swiftly, he stood up, his decision made. "If you'll excuse me, I believe it's time for me to return to New Orleans."

"What about Klaus?" asked Elena warily. If the hybrid did pop up in Mystic Falls for whatever reason, she wouldn't mind having Elijah as a buffer against him.

"I need to call in a favour from one the witches of the French Quarter," Elijah explained. "I had been hoping that my brother was simply causing trouble here, but seeing as how he is apparently nowhere to be found, it's time to turn to a locator spell. He was one his way towards the front door, but before he left, he turned back to Damon and Elena. "Your friend, Caroline…if I find out anything about her, I'll let you know immediately."

Elena nodded gratefully, and Elijah took his leave. As soon as they heard him get into a car and drive off, she turned towards Damon and took note of the worried look on his face. "You think it's connected?" she asked him quietly.

Damon nodded, taking Elena's hand and leading her back over to the couch. "It's too big a coincidence. Blondie and Papa Hybrid missing right at the same time? Besides, we all know he was obsessed with her – you think maybe he finally…"

"Finally snapped and did something to her?" finished Elena, an uneasy pit growing in her stomach. "I don't know Damon, why would he wait until now?"

"Hell if I know," said Damon, sounding tired as he flopped back against the cushions. "There's also…there's also Stefan."

Elena stiffened, "What about Stefan? I thought you said you weren't too worried about him?"

"I wasn't. But if there's a chance he's involved in this…"

"I'm sure Stefan's fine," said Elena, but this time, she sounded entirely unconvincing. "It's Stefan, he'd call if he needed help, or if anything went wrong…right?"

The two vampires knew how hollow the words were. Anything they said now would be meaningless, because as far as their friends were concerned, there was no telling what could've happened to them. Elena relaxed into the couch and Damon wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and together they sat in silence, their worries permeating the air.

* * *

"Caroline, are you sure about this?" asked Klaus. They still stood in the library, where Caroline had snapped off the leg of one of the large wooden tables and was now holding the makeshift stake over her heart. She had a white knuckle grip on it, as if afraid she was going to drop it because of her anxiety, but she still managed to summon a reassuring smile.

"Look, we have to try this. Dying is the surefire way to wake people up, so it can't hurt, right?" She winced at her choice of words. There was a good chance this was going to hurt , _a lot._

Klaus was against this plan, if only because the sight of Caroline ready to attempt suicide sent ice through his veins, despite him knowing the circumstances. "You were already killed, Caroline, remember? Not half an hour ago, by your father, or have you already forgotten that stake the heart?"

Caroline sighed, knowing that was the one fact that didn't gel with her little theory. Still, she was verging on desperate. "Maybe it was because someone else was killing me?" she offered, knowing it made little sense. "Maybe because this is so lucid, you have to really _want_ to die, so I should be able to-"

"For God's sake Caroline, do you realize the chance you're taking?!" Klaus snapped at her, his eyes drawn back to the stake in her hands. This fists clenched and unclenched, and he fought to keep control and not rip it away for her.

"We have to try this Klaus," she said firmly. Gulping, she took a long look at him, finding mostly anger in his gaze, but also…fear? He was scared for her. The thought is oddly pleasant, and she holds onto that pleasant feeling at she gripped the stake and pushed it into her own chest.

The pain blinding, she could feel every little wooden splinter pierce her heart. But instead of blissful blackness, she remained awake, completely conscious of her heart pumping furiously around the intrusive object. Although she was awake though, her strength had left her and she was vaguely aware of having crumpled to the ground, a pair of arms catching her and holding her upright. There was a voice, muffled, and she realized it was Klaus, calling her name. He sounded frantic, but he didn't need to be. She was well and truly alive.

'_So much for that plan'_

The wood scraped against her heart, but this time it was being pulled out and Caroline regained her clarity. Looking up, Klaus's face was close to hers, and she felt him brushing hair out of her face. His lips were moving and she found herself fascinated by them, watching them open and close as he formed words, though it took her a moment to realize what he was saying.

"Caroline? Caroline, sweetheart, are you alright?" She was weak and muddled, he could tell, but quickly regaining her strength. At the very least, she hadn't died, though he wondered if her heightened awareness of what she was doing was what enabled her to keep conscious instead of blacking out like usual.

"We need…a Plan B," she said weakly, trying to sit upright, which Klaus let her do.

"You're not going through that again," Klaus said firmly, not caring that in addition to being trapped in a dream, he might have to put Caroline on suicide watch. "You've proven that death is no reprieve from this, and I'm not letting you put your life in danger like that again. Save your strength, we don't know what else could be coming after us."

He was right, Caroline realized. It had been a sound plan, or at least something they needed to try…but if that didn't save them, what would? "So what now?" asked Caroline wearily. Klaus pulled her to her feet, trying to ignore the patch of blood that stained the front of her shirt.

"We have to take control," he said firmly. "You said it yourself, we should have some measure of control over what's happening, so that's what we need to work on. To be honest love," he said, looking around the dusty library, "this doesn't feel like an ordinary dream. Nothing about this is typical. Somebody is using some very powerful magic and if that's the case, then we might be here for a while."

* * *

**Yeah, they're definitely going to be there for a while. Those lines from the textbook are from an old Psych textbook of mine, but this is really more magic than science based, so if there are any actual Psych students reading this, I hope you'll allow me some creative license! I hope you liked the chapter, and please leave your thoughts, let me know what you think! I'd like to say I'm going to work on my term papers, but really, I'm going to watch Thor 2. Have a great weekend!**

**(Feel free to follow me on Tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne)**


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